2 Wis. deputies stabbed, suspect killed

A Dane County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a man who had stabbed two other deputies during a disturbance Thursday

By Ed Treleven
The Wisconsin State Journal

PRIMROSE, Wis. — A Dane County sheriff's deputy fatally shot a man who had stabbed two other deputies during a disturbance Thursday afternoon at a home near New Glarus, authorities said.

Three deputies responded to a call about 12:30 p.m. to a house at 233 Hanna Road in the town of Primrose and found an elderly man and woman with head injuries, Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said at a briefing Thursday evening outside UW Hospital, where Lt. Brian Hayes and Deputy Roger Finch were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

The couple found in the home appeared to have been beaten, Mahoney said.

Hayes and Finch, who were checking the home for a third occupant, were on an open spiral staircase when a man attacked them, stabbing them in the legs with a knife, Mahoney said. The third deputy, whom Mahoney did not identify, fired gunshots at the assailant, who died at the scene.

The man who was killed was the son of the injured couple, Mahoney said.

Mahoney said the shooting would be investigated by city of Madison, Sun Prairie, Fitchburg and UW police, but added that the Sheriff's Office had used outside agencies to investigate shootings involving its officers even before a new state law required the practice.

This is the second officer-involved fatal shooting in Wisconsin since the law took effect. On Wednesday, a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a man after a struggle in a popular downtown park.

Both Dane County deputies were airlifted to UW Hospital, Mahoney said. Hayes, whose injuries were more serious, had surgery at the hospital and was stable, Mahoney said.

He said he expected Hayes to remain at the hospital for several days.

Mahoney said the Sheriff's Office had previously been to the home, which is about six miles north of New Glarus, and that his officers are "acquainted" with the man who attacked the deputies. He did not identify the man or the two people who were injured in the home. Their conditions were not immediately available, but Mahoney said they were taken to a hospital in Madison by ambulance.

Mahoney said the identity of the man killed would be released by the Medical Examiner's Office later.

Property records show the home is owned by Rosemary Hansen. Town of Primrose Clerk Jamie Baker said the occupants of the home are Hansen, her husband, Robert Hansen, and their son, Dean.

A neighbor, Dionne Babler, said he rents farmland from the Hansens. He said the couple built the log home where they lived after they retired.

Earlier Thursday, the Sheriff's Office emergency command center was set up in front of the two-story, log-sided house set about 200 feet back from Hanna Road amid rolling farm fields. The lot behind the house is heavily wooded.

"Our thoughts go out to everyone involved in today's incident in the town of Primrose, including two of our county's deputies who were injured in the line of duty. The saddening events of the afternoon are reminders of the dangers men and women in law enforcement face every day.

"On behalf of the family that is Dane County government and the half-million people our deputies work hard to protect everyday, I want to extend our gratitude for their service and well wishes for a quick recovery."